Perceived Teacher Self-Efficacy in Early Childhood Settings: Differences between Early Childhood and Elementary Education Candidates.

This study examined the degree of perceived teacher self-efficacy between early childhood preservice teachers and elementary education pre-service teachers. There were 88 participants: 44 elementary education pre-service teachers and 40 early childhood pre-service teachers. Participants were mostly white, female pre-service teachers enrolled at East Tennessee State University. Using Bandura\u27s 30-item Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale pre-service teachers rated their perceived self-efficacy on 7 subscales: decision-making, influence on school resources, instructional efficacy, disciplinary efficacy, enlisting parent involvement, enlisting community involvement, and creating a positive school climate. Significant differences were found between groups for 3 of the 7 subscales. Early childhood education pre-service teachers reflected higher levels of efficacy in influencing decision making, t(86)=3.36, p\u3c.001; enlisting parental involvement, t(86)= 2.14, p \u3c .05; and creating a positive school climate, t(86) = 3.01, p \u3c .01. No significant differences between groups were found in overall perceived teacher self-efficacy, t(86)=1.44, n.s